The remainder of this is for y'all who are interested in participating. Check out the Novice Handbook site ref'd below. Also check out the Spokes website at http://www.ccsi.com/~vitek/spokes/. The club page contains good info on what to expect on "race day". The following was sent to me by the Spokes safety inspector for your edification.
I am forwarding an excerpt from Kate Hughes' Solo II Novice Handbook at
Safety Belts: Original safety belts, at a minimum are required. Shoulder belts are not required, if your car did not come with them, but you must have a lap belt. Belts must be firmly attached.
Solidly Mounted Battery: The battery must be held down properly. If it can be moved at all, it will not pass. There are some additional battery requirements which may affect you if you have modified your car. The Tech Inspector will help you out with them.
Legal Tires: In Stock and Street Prepared categories, the tires must have measurable tread, and must be in good condition. Excessive weather checks or visible cord/plies will fail inspection. Tire pressures should be higher than used for the street, usually 45psi-Front/35psi-Rear for a front-wheel-drive car, or 40psi all around for a rear-wheel-drive car.
[Note: I drive a Miata, so I'm not really in a position to suggest tire pressures for a Mustang. Dave or Tommy should be able to help you. CAB]
Brakes: The brake pedal must be firm, with no loss of pressure when held down.
Steering / Suspension: The steering must be tight, with no excessive play. Wheel bearings cannot have excessive play.
Hub Caps and Trim Rings: Hub caps, trim rings and wheel covers must be removed for competition, unless they are bolted to the wheel.
Loose Items in Car: All loose items must be removed from the passenger compartment and trunk. This includes the floor-mats. You may remove the spare tire and jack, but you are not required to if they are properly secured.
Fluid Leaks: Excessive fluid leaks will not pass inspection.
Numbers and Class Markings: The car numbers and class markings should be prominently displayed on both sides of the car in colors that contrast with the paint, and should be large enough to be seen easily from the timing van. White shoe polish for marking windows (comes off with Windex ) is available for people who don't have magnetic or paper numbers.
Adequate Muffler: Your car must be quieter than 95dbA (RLS) measured 50 feet from the course at a place where you are under full throttle. Due to the possibility of losing sites for noise problems, this rule is strictly enforced. (If your car is quiet enough to avoid attracting Police attention, it will most likely pass the noise requirement)
Throttle: Accelerator pedal must have a return spring and operate freely.
(RLS) for local tech requirements:
You are not required to have your car registered for street use, but it must pass tech inspection.
Regards, Craig
Mark your calendars now and make arrangements to meet Texas SVO owners
in Austin in June!
TEXAS SVOs START NEW RAINMAKING BUSINESS by Bob Storm
For the third time in a row, the Texas semi-annual statewide SVO Gathering involved rain. We are considering scheduling future events during drought season, and charging the host site enough for our rainmaking services to at least cover the costs of the events.
The day started out brisk, though the rain had stopped. The temperature hovered near 40, but the 20 - 30 mph winds were chilling. Even the sun seemed to sleep in under the covers that morning! In spite of that, 30 people brought 18 SVOs to Baylor campus near downtown Waco. After registration in the parking lot, (sheltered by a bus stop tent for the students), we paraded to the first event of the weekend: a tour of Texas Mustang Parts.
Texas Mustang Parts is a Mustang restoration and enhancement parts company near Waco. They invited us to come in out of the cold and into their parts counter lobby. TMP's Shannon Guderian greeted us, and began by describing the available regular Mustang parts that would fit SVOs for our servicing / restoration needs. He then discussed SVO-unique parts that he has, or is attempting to make available. We also talked about events such as the Mustang 35th Anniversary at Charlotte and Super Fords in Houston. Once we had completed all of our parts orders and purchases, we formed up again to parade to the next event: lunch.
The downtown Waco restaurant named Buzzard Billy's Armadillo Bar and Grill provided us with a meeting room, food and beverage. After an enjoyable luncheon, we held a short business meeting and received our attendance appreciation certificates. Both members and prospects had been invited to the Gathering, and five new members signed up.
During a break, we went out to the parking lot to "judge" for awards. The weather had not improved any, and it even sprinkled some, but almost all attendees spent nearly an hour examining the unique aspects of each of the 18 cars. The Farthest Distance Traveled Award was awarded to Steve Pratt of Missouri City. Chuck Tiongson of Plano received Best of Show again with an immaculate 85.5 (license plate "1 OF 439"). Lowest mileage went to Bryan Talley of Houston with an incredible under-6000 original miles!
A cell phone rang periodically during the luncheon and business meeting. The drag strip that was to be the evening event still had water on it in a couple of spots. Frequent status reports kept us in a waiting game. It was nearly 4 p.m. when the track operators declared that it would be safe to open the track for the evening. The weather was still cold and windy, with occasional mist or sprinkles. Some folks opted for the comfort and quiet of their motel rooms, but finally 5 cars headed for the Prairie Hill Dragstrip about 25 miles away.
The folks at the track forgot to tell us that there was a little dip in the access road (the size of a small lake!). One of the families that joined us was in a high-rise four wheel drive pickup. They were invited to go through the water first, just for safety. Upon declaring that the water level was lower than the SVO spark plugs, we eased on through. Trooper of The Weekend was awarded to Bryan Talley for traversing the "puddle" across the driveway to the track in his ultra-low mileage SVO. Upon questioning Sunday morning, he did admit the he had had some concern about crossing the "lake", but was pleased that no water came into the carpet from around the door seals.
With the temperature now under 40 on a washed-off track, traction was very poor, in spite of liberal and frequent doses of VHT. One of the highlights of this frosty event was a father-son match featuring our own director Jim Whelan vs. son Scott Whelan who drove the infamous Saga. We won't embarrass either with final results or et's. But with the poor traction, one driver was observed stalling the engine during one of his launches while trying to "feather" the gas. Awards from Texas Mustang Parts went to Cedar Park's Troy Storm, Pablo Navarette from Odessa, and Corey Bullock from Arlington.
The sun finally awoke on Sunday morning, but the wind chill was still in the teens. Inside the hotel restaurant, 11of us exchanged stories over brunch. As noon neared, we exchanged addresses and phone numbers, and vowed to keep in touch.
By the way, the plan for the next event is to schedule and publicize for one weekend, but secretly hold it the next weekend to see if we can get out of the rainmaking business. Weather reports, etc., were brought to you courtesy of the Storm family, #1697, a.k.a. The Saga.